A Net Zero Energy Home Grows Up: Lessons and Puzzles from Ten Years of Data

In 2005, Habitat for Humanity of Metro Denver teamed up with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) to design and build a net zero energy (NZE) home in Wheat Ridge, Colorado. A main goal of the project was to show that a NZE home was feasible to build within the Habitat for Humanity model. This meant that the design must be repeatable and cost-effective for the climate region; that it must be simple enough that it could be built largely with volunteer labor; and that occupants could operate the home with no special training.